Lord Patel made his way back onto the stage as Emperor Marak moved to the rear.
“That concludes the agenda of the Assembly of Lords today unless anyone has something to offer,” stated Lord Patel. “Are there any questions or motions?”
It was clear that everyone had questions, but no one rose to state them publicly. Lord Patel called the meeting to a close. The members of the Lords’ Council immediately left their seats and went onto the stage. They mixed freely with the Chula introducing themselves. Except for the stark clothing of the Chula, the scene was reminiscent of a gathering of lords. The members of the Assembly of Lords stood staring at the spectacle in disbelief and whispering among themselves. Within moments, however, some of the lords became curious. At first they drifted closer to the stage in an attempt to catch snippets of conversation, but eventually some of the lords marched up the steps and stood next to a member of the Lords’ Council to hear what was happening. The members of the Lords’ Council did not miss a beat. When they noticed a new face alongside them, they introduced that lord to the next chieftain as if he were an old friend. Within an hour, lords and chieftains chatted freely with each other. Several hours into the gathering, Emperor Marak bumped into Lord Chenowith.
“How are things going?” the Emperor asked Lord Chenowith. “Are the disputes being resolved?”
“They are,” nodded Lord Chenowith, “and in a much better way than any of us envisioned.”
“What do you mean? frowned the Emperor.
“Twenty seven disputes have been resolved in the last hour alone,” answered Lord Chenowith, “and each of them was resolved with the same solution.”
“And what is that solution?” prompted the Emperor.
“The disputed land will be shared equally between the Chula and the Khadorans,” explained Lord Chenowith, “and I do not mean splitting it down the middle. I mean that both Chula and Khadorans will have full access to the land as equal partners.”
“That is fantastic,” brightened the Emperor. “That means that both peoples will get to know one another. Who thought of this?”
“It evolved out of discussions between one of the lords and his Chula neighbor,” replied Lord Chenowith. “I am not sure which ones, but it is such a great solution.”
“It ensures that the Khadorans will no longer be ignorant about the Chula ways,” nodded the Emperor. “This has turned out much better than I had anticipated. What about Lord Padro? I am afraid my treatment of him has created an enemy for life.”
“He was already your enemy,” shrugged Lord Chenowith. “Little can be done to change that, but his co-plotters have agreed to drop their claims against the Sookie. Their attitude was one of having lost a gamble, so I do not think that Lord Padro will be able to sway them in the future.”
* * *
The floor of the throne room in the temple on the Island of Darkness was splattered with blood. Xavo watched where he stepped as he made his way towards the front of the room, lest he slip and look like a fool. The soldiers were dragging a body out of the chamber while the inner circle of the followers of Vand gathered for a daily briefing. Emperor Vand’s dark visage lightened as he looked up and saw Clarvoy enter the room.
“Welcome home, Clarvoy,” smiled Vand as he signaled for the doors to the room to be closed. “What news do you have for me?”
The spymaster’s eyes scanned the room, as they always did, before answering the Emperor.
“Some of the news is confusing,” admitted Clarvoy, “but there are gems as well. On the confusing end is Marak’s reaction to our attack at Duran. His reaction was fairly swift, but I cannot determine its significance. He made a great show of sending thousands of soldiers south towards Duran, but they never arrived. Our spies lost track of them somewhere around the Kalatung Mountains.”
“They lost track of thousands of soldiers?” frowned the Emperor. “How is that possible?”
“I don’t know,” conceded the spymaster. “I have put extra spies to work in that area to find the lost armies. I will report any progress to you.”
“What else?” frowned the Emperor.
“I have been successful in infiltrating the inner circle of the Star of Sakova,” declared Clarvoy. “Much can be learned from this spy. The city of Zaramilden is being abandoned. The entire population is being evacuated to western coast cities.”
“Interesting,” mused the Emperor. “Is this significant enough to alter our attack plans?”
“I am not sure yet,” replied Clarvoy. “I wish to speak to the generals about this. Using Zaramilden as a base would allow us a complete city between the Khadorans and the Sakovans with easy access denied to both. It has possibilities, but it would require changes to the plans we have already agreed upon.”
“I have faith in you Clarvoy,” replied Vand. “Talk with the generals and report back to me. We will discuss this again at length.”
“I have also learned much about the Sakovan defenses,” continued Clarvoy. “They are hiding the bulk of their armies in the forests beyond Alamar. I have not yet determined the purpose of this, but it is only a matter of time until I do.”
“So there is no plan for them to repopulate Duran?” questioned the Emperor.
“None at all,” replied Clarvoy. “I think the evacuation of Zaramilden verifies that. They are planning on defending Alamar and the west coast.”
“Alamar will fall the first day,” retorted the Emperor. “Find out what those reserve armies are for. I was hoping to crush the bulk of their forces in Alamar. Now it sounds like they will not be there.”
“I will find that out and much more,” promised Clarvoy. “This new spy is the closest we have gotten to the Star of Sakova. It will be a rich vein that can be mined for more information than we dreamed possible.”
“Can this spy kill the Star of Sakova?” asked Vand.
“That is possible,” frowned Clarvoy, “but I would urge against it. Right now we have a source of information that will guarantee the defeat of the Sakovans. If that asset is used to kill the Star of Sakova, it is highly likely that our source of information will be shut down. I do not like being blind, not even for the life of the Star of Sakova.”
“Your point is well taken,” sighed the Emperor. “I do not know what I would do without your services, Clarvoy. You are the one Motangan that never fails me.”
“I always try my best,” bowed the spymaster.
“What of the Fakarans?” asked the Emperor.
“Chaos,” shrugged Clarvoy. “I expected the free tribes and the Jiadin to still be fighting, but that is not happening. It appears that the free tribes have disappeared from the new cities that they were building. The Jiadin now infest Meliban and Taggot.”
“The free tribes are too numerous to disappear,” frowned the Emperor. “Someone knows where they are.”
“Quite true,” replied Clarvoy. “It is said that they have fled to Angragar, but no one knows where Angragar is. I have spies searching all of Fakara.”
“Angragar,” Vand mused troublingly. “That would make sense. It will be the place of the Astor’s last stand. He is fortifying it against our armies and leaving the Jiadin out as treats for our armies. Why should he try to battle the Jiadin when my armies will do it for him?”
“What if we called the Jiadin in to be our allies?” asked Clarvoy. “They accepted the position once before.”
“Oh,” smiled Vand, “we can call them allies, but the Jiadin will die along with the rest. They are all descended from the ingrates who abandoned me long ago. I swore that I would extinguish every one of their spawn from the face of the world, and I shall do so.”
“Still,” suggested Clarvoy, “we can use the Jiadin before we kill them. Let me try to turn them against the Astor one more time.”